MEDIA ROOTS – Our very own Abby Martin, the founder and editor-in-chief of all of the content on this website has been over at Russia Today (RT) America this past month learning the ropes of live TV journalism. Abby has over 2 hours of live content broadcast on every Wednesday and Friday at 4, 5, 7 and 8 EST.
Recently, the network has been giving Abby bigger guests like Sibel Edmonds, Alex Jones, a fugitive from hacktivist group Anonymous and even retired generals. Interview guests who come on TV shows have certain expectations, either they will be walking into a predetermined partisan hackery ‘lion’s den,’ knowing that they will have to argue from within the left vs. right box with a TV host who is basically a skilled (or not so skilled actor). So what does a combative and hard hitting interview look like these days in a world where questions are complete softballs, and ‘hard’ questions seem cultivated, manufactured, or even staged? Can you remember the last time you watched a TV news special and watched a TV show host outside of the paradigm of partisan hackery have a meaningful argument with a guest? I sure can’t.
Luckily we have Abby Martin on our side, asking tough questions that come from the heart, not from a page or a talking point. In a single day, Abby makes two ‘retired’ generals red faced and flustered by challenging their dogmatic narratives. Usually a TV news reporter has a certain level of deferrence and authoritative ‘respect’ towards a sitting or ex military officer. Abby very calmy throws that rule book out and speaks to these men as if they are normal everyday citizens, who spread dangerous and divisive baseless propaganda. Both generals also try to inject their own agenda (we suspect it’s a think tank talking point) of saying that military spending isnt the main problem, instead they claim that entitlement programs, like welfare and food stamps, are really what’s bringing our economy down.
At Media Roots we would much rather have our tax dollars going to help poor and starving people instead of killing muslims and Arabs thousands of miles away in foreign countries.
Later that day, she had the chance to interview a member of Anonymous. Instead of butting heads with him on the generic point that Anonymous is ‘criminal’ or hurting our image across the world, Abby asks him several challenging questions that have rarely if ever been asked of an Anonymous member.
“How do we know you’re not an FBI informant?”
“How do we know you’re really in Anonymous when the point of the group is to remain Anymous?”
“Don’t you think the government could use Anonymous coordinated attacks as an excuse to launch the war on cyberterror, further squashing civil rights of all Americans?”
He tries to answer as best he could, and you can tell that this man has never encountered questions like this before, forcing him to think outside of the predetermined ‘fixed’ argument that usually happens on these TV shows.
After having shows like Hardball, Crossfire, Hannity and Colmes forced down our throats for years, we’ve forgotten what truly combative hard hitting interviews look like on the news. We’ve been accustomed to the equivalent of a WWF wrestling match between people with ‘opposing’ viewpoints in which individually reinforce a false paradigm, but when matched together solidify said paradigm into nearly inpenetrable propaganda for the general public.
Luckily Abby is here to start changing that direction and bringing back the fourth estate into live TV interviews. Don’t stop what you’re doing Abby… you’re just getting this party started!
Robbie Martin for Media Roots
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Watch these excellent interviews below:
Abby Martin interviews ex Army Colonel about Defense Spending.
Abby Martin’s interview about Pentagon spending turns into a debate about the threat of Iran.
Abby Martin Interviews Commander X of Anonymous
